


Memphis Millennials

by MaybeItWasMemphis



Category: Mayans M.C. (TV)
Genre: Country Music, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Long-Distance Relationship, Romance, Song Fic - sort of, Song Lyrics, Wrong Number Gone Right
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:29:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 8,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22189429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaybeItWasMemphis/pseuds/MaybeItWasMemphis
Summary: Angel dials the wrong area code and everything goes right for a change.REPOST FROM MY OLD ACCOUNT
Relationships: Angel Reyes/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 59





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: From what the news, and Kurt Sutter himself, has been saying...I wouldn't actually want to be connected to this show in real life. Word is that last season the set was hell on earth for the cast and crew. So, nope, not connected to it. My temper's a little too Irish to deal with Kurt Sutter's ego. I literally live in one of the poorest cities in America so you know I'm not making a profit off of this.
> 
> Disclaimer II: Just assume at all times that any song lyrics used in this story are not mine. I've been a country kick recently...as you will soon discover.

_“One beer turns into a lit cigarette  
Burnin' into a two beer buzz  
Three beers turns into five and six  
Then a love-drunk kiss in the back of that truck  
Just like that, everything rearranges  
Life changes - “_

My cell phone going off in my back pocket threw off the band in the middle of rehearsals.

“Sorry, y'all, my bad. I thought it was on silent.” I dug my phone out of my pocket. It was a California number. “Whoever this is, it better be good,” I answered with a touch of an attitude. All of my friends and family knew better than to bother me while I was working. It was literally my only pet peeve. 

“Shit, you're not Coco,” a male voice with a touch of a Latin accent replied. 

“Nope, I'm not Coco.” I rolled my eyes. “I also don't know anyone named Coco.”

“My mistake, chica. I think I have the wrong number.”

“I think so too.” I disconnected the call before the man could say another word. 

“Damn, Chelsea, who pissed in your cornflakes?” My bandmate, Chris, chuckled. 

I laughed with him for a moment. “I'm just ready to get this tour over and done with. We are long overdue for a break.”

“Ain't that the damn truth,” Ricky, our drummer, agreed. 

Ricky, Chris, and I were all members of the Memphis Millennials, a country band out of Tennessee. Chris was my co-lead singer. The band was rounded out by my cousin, Wade, on bass and my lifelong best friend, Rose, on fiddle and backing vocals. We had first found country music stardom fifteen years earlier when we were all just teenagers and young adults. Since that first album went triple platinum we had done nothing but record, promote, and perform. Our just-released sixth album was the last record we were contractually required to record for our record label. We had all agreed to a two-year (minimum) hiatus after the world tour we were about to embark on. We were all in our late twenties and early thirties. We were all getting to the point where we wanted to settle down. 

“Lets just take it from the top and then we can go home for the day.” This was our last rehearsal before we hit the road. It was a Saturday evening and the tour buses were scheduled to roll out at four in the morning on Monday. I still had packing left to do.”

****  
“Seriously, Tonks, get out of mommy's suitcase or I'm gonna zip you in there,” I threatened my cat. Tonks just stared at me blankly while her sister, Neffi, perched on my dresser like a tabby gargoyle. I'd rescued both cats from the streets of Memphis and they had vastly different temperaments. Neffi (short for Nefertiti) was a very proper and spoiled animal. She had simply walked in my back door one day when I left it open and never left. Being the oldest and first cat in the house, Neffi was the queen. She had the adorable and, at times, annoying habit of perching on furniture like a sphinx (hence her name) and loudly crying until she got the attention she wanted. You came to her, she did not come to you. Tonks, on the other hand, was a love bug that I had discovered hiding under my car as a kitten. She followed me around like a little shadow and demanded, via a baby-like meow, to be held as often as I allowed. Both cats were seasoned travelers as I had paid an arm and a leg to get them travel permits. When I went, Neffi and Tonks were sure to follow. They even had their own luggage and travel beds. Yes, I'm a crazy cat lady. I know and I don't care. I'm kind of proud of it.

Giving up the battle of the suitcase for the moment, I walked out to my living room to grab my phone off of the coffee table. I had promised my momma that I would call her. Once I entered my password, I was surprised to find that I had a text message from the same California phone number that had called me during rehearsals. Curiously, I opened it and read it.

***Sorry about earlier, country mouse. New phone and I dialed the wrong area code. Didn't mean to bother you.***

I giggled a little bit at being called a country mouse before I replied. 

_**No worries. I probably could have been nicer about it. I'm guessing you're a city mouse?**_

I got a reply by the time I ended my phone call with my momma.

***More like a Mexican mouse.***

I couldn't resist my next typed words. He had kinda made it too easy. 

_**You're Speedy Gonzalez, got it.**_

This time the response was almost immediate. 

***Okay, that was kind of racist...but it also made me fucking like you. I handed you that one.***

“MEOW!”

“Neffi, I'm not coming in there to pet you! You come here if you want attention!”

“MEOW! MEEEOOOW!”

“Damn it, fine! I'm freakin' coming your royal highness!” I hollered at my cat as I sent one final text.

_**I might like you too. Who knows?**_

***THE REAL TONKS AND NEFFI ARE PICTURED BELOW. YES, THEY EXIST. YES, THEY ACT LIKE THEY DO IN THIS STORY.***


	2. Chapter 2

** ONE MONTH LATER **

***You busy, country mouse?** *

I was zoned out, laying on a hotel bed somewhere in Europe – I'd lost track of the city – watching the third season of the 'The Office' on my laptop. The night's concert had ended two hours earlier and I was crashing hard off of the adrenaline rush. I blamed exhaustion for the reply I sent.

_**My real name's Chelsea.**_

It didn't take long to get a response.

***Beautiful name. My name's Angel, Chelsea.***

I'd been talking to Angel for at least month but until tonight we had stuck to calling each other County Mouse and Speedy. We knew no specifics about each other like where we lived or what we did for a living. It was nice to have someone to talk to without having to worry if he was using me for something. 

_**Not busy, btw.**_

***What are you up to this afternoon?”***

I laughed out loud before answering him. 

_**Laying in bed watching TV because it's midnight where I'm at.**_

***Damn, chica. Where you at?***

Again, without thinking, I answered him honestly. Exhaustion remember?

_**Europe**_

After I racked my brain for a moment I was able to remember that I was in Paris, at the Ritz.

***Vacation?***

_**Work.**_

His next message came with a photo attachment.

***What do you do, chica? I work at a salvage yard.***

I hit the download button and my mouth went dry. Angel had sent me a picture of himself, standing in what I assumed was the salvage yard with a ton of motorcycles behind him. He was tall and just the right amount of muscular with dark eyes and goatee. By the way he was dressed, I'd guess he was a biker.

_**I'm a singer. And you may look damn good but I'm sending you a picture.**_

***Wasn't asking you to. What do you sing? And I look damn good? Good to know bebita.***

I chuckled. 

_**I sing country music with my friends and cousin. And I think you know you look good. What does bebita mean?**_

I actually got butterflies when I read his two-word answer – that was followed by a heart emoticon. 

***Baby girl***

Tonks was curled up next to me in bed while Neffi lay in her bed on the floor next to the bathroom. 

“Girls mommy is in big trouble.”


	3. Chapter 3

“Hermano, you don't think she'll be pissed when she finds out you did this?” Riz was giving me a disapproving look even as he handed me the file that he had fucking gotten me in the first place – upon request but, still, he had agreed to do it.

“I don't plan on her ever finding out,” I shot back as I opened the file the Riz had obtained through the help of a private investigator friend of his.

The first thing I saw was her name – Chelsea Stone. A faceless girl had managed to get under my skin and invade most of my waking thoughts for a fucking month. I'd snapped just a few days earlier and had Riz ping her cell phone to find out her name for the PI so I could discover just who the holy hell my cell phone girlfriend was. Under her name was her photo. It almost looked like a promotional shot. A thick, average height woman with killer fucking curves was standing in a field of wildflowers wearing a short white sundress and brown cowboy boots. Her skin was just the right amount of sun-kissed that made her bleach-blonde hair really stand out. Her eyes were brown and almost doe-like. The smile on her face showed off a cute pair of dimples.

“Fuck,” I ran a hand over my mouth. Country Mouse was beautiful.

Flipping to the next page, I found a brief bio that the PI had written. Chelsea was thirty, three years younger than me. She had been born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee and had two sisters, one younger, and one older. And she had seriously downplayed her job as a country singer. She was one of the lead singers of one of the most popular country bands of the last twenty years. My bebita was famous.

***

It was after midnight when I fell into bed in my dorm at the clubhouse. I'd been on a protection run most of the day. Getting comfortable, I grabbed my noise-canceling headphones and hit play on my phone's new Memphis Millennials playlist. Chelsea only seemed to sing on half of each track, bouncing back and forth on the lyrics with the band's male singer. Still, I enjoyed hearing her voice. It was soothing to me. 

“ _'Gimme that wink, I'ma give it right back_

_You know you like it, you love it, you want some more of that_

_You make me smile like I did when we were radio kids_

_Catching that countdown on Sunday, all the way to one day_

_When that was,_

_Do you love me?_

_If you do, check yes, please...”_

“Yes, please,” I mumbled to myself in response to the line Chelsea had sung. I couldn't resist sending a text to the woman in question.

***Bebita, you ever head the song 90's Country? I kinda like it.***


	4. Chapter 4

It was a little after 9:30 in the morning and I was gathered with the rest of the band in a private waiting area in a small Paris airport. We were about to board a small plane for the short flight to Scotland. We had ten shows there before we played five shows in Ireland and still fifteen more in England.

I was reclined in a comfortable chair playing _Homescapes_ on my phone when I received a text message from Angel that nearly stopped my heart.

***Bebita, you ever hear the song 90’s Country? I kinda like it.***

_**I kinda like it too.**_

Of course, I kind liked it. Chris had written it and I helped him sing it on an almost nightly basis.

“MEEEOOOOWWW!”

“Neffi, hush,” I lightly tapped the top of her quilted cat carrier. “It’s only for a little while. Go to sleep like your sister.”

“You know she can’t understand you,” Wade laughed at me from his place laying stretched out on the floor and using his duffel bag as a pillow.

“Oh, yes, she can,” I replied. If she couldn’t understand me than why the holy hell did come hightailing it into my kitchen whenever I said the word _tuna_? Or hide under my bed anytime I said the word _bath_ , even when I was only referring to taking one myself? Neffi – and Tonks – understood me perfectly. My cats just chose when they wanted to respond to me.

***The chica who fronts that band, Memphis Millennials isn’t hard on the eyes either. She’s actually pretty sexy.***

I felt my cheeks heat up and I knew that I was blushing all the way to my highlighted roots.

“Whoa,” Rose laughed. “Girl, who are you talkin’ to over there?”

“Noneya,” I smirked.

Rose simply raised a questioning eyebrow.

“None of ya business,” I clarified. Seriously, was I the only one who remembered the classic 90’s comebacks?

“Real mature,” Rose shook her head. 

My hands were shaking as I typed out my reply to Angel.

_**Her name is Chelsea Stone.**_

Wonderful. Now I was texting about myself in the third person like I didn’t even know myself.

“MEEEOOOOWWW!”

“meow”

“Great. Thank you, Neffi. You woke up Tonks!” I huffed.

“Chelsea, I’m worried about you, so I want you to repeat slowly after me,” Chris’ tone was mockingly serious. “ _My cats are not people_. Say it with me now. _My cats are_ –”

I smacked him upside the back of his head before he could finish his sentence. “Boy, shut the hell up.”

***Si, her. She’s beautiful, a reina. So, her name is the same as yours. What a weird coincidence.***

_**Yeah, totally weird. What does reina mean? You know that I don’t speak Spanish.**_

I tried to steer the conversation away from the topic of, well, _me_.

***You should let me teach you Spanish. We could do it over the phone. Reina means queen.***

“Holy shit,” I mumbled to myself. The dead sexy Mexican biker thought that I looked like a queen. That was one hell of an ego boost.

“meow, meow, meow,” Tonks’ little meows came out sounding more like chirps. She was a cat that looked like a mouse that sounded like a bird. She was certainly unique.

“It’s okay, baby.” I opened the cage and started petting her to calm her down. I was kind of glad for the distraction. I didn’t know how to respond to Angel in that moment. Honestly, I was freaking out internally, wondering if I should cut off all communication with the man who had somehow managed to become one of my best friends, all over text message.

“ _My cats are not people_ ,” Chris started up his crap again.

Shutting Tonks’ carrier, I quickly smacked my smart-ass friend in the stomach when he was least expecting it, causing him to double over in his chair because I knocked the wind out of him.

Yeah. Distractions were nice.


	5. Chapter 5

***Are you okay, bebita? ***

***Why won’t you talk to me anymore? ***

***Chelsea, it’s been two weeks, I’m worried about you. Please, talk to me, mi sol.***

I was such a chicken shit. I ignored Angel for over two weeks after he mentioned being a fan of, well, me. I had liked it when we were anonymous. Now that he knew why I looked like, it changed things…even if he didn’t _know_ that he knew what I looked like.

The tour was on a two-week hiatus and I was back home at my lonely little house in Memphis with just my cats for company. My parents were visiting my grandparents down in Florida. My younger sister, Tabatha, was away on a fall tour of her own. The edgier Stone sister, Tabby, as we called her, was a popular pop/rock singer. My older sister, Joleen, was an animal lover that traveled the country with a private charity that rescued animals after natural disasters. The last time I had spoken to her, she was in California, helping to evacuate animals that were being affected by wildfires. I had no family around and I found myself so sick with the flu that I could barely drag myself out of bed. That’s probably why I actually followed the order that Angel text messaged me next.

***Bebita, answer the phone. NOW! ***

Now even thirty seconds later, my phone began ringing.

“Hello?” My voice was hoarse, and it hurt to use it.

“Hola, Chelsea,” Angel’s voice was deep, and he had a slight accent. Damn him. He sounded just as good as he looked. “Are you okay, mi reina? I haven’t heard back from you in weeks. I’m worried about you.”

My fever made it where my head was so foggy that I didn’t catch it when he called me his queen that night. I also didn’t censor anything I said like I normally would have if I could have thought straight. “The tour’s been busy. I got caught up…and I was scared of you…” I lost my train of thought.

“Chelsea, mi armor, you’re slurring. Are you okay?”

“I’m sick…” My eyelids felt unnaturally heavy. I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open.

“Mi sol, what’s the code the unlocks your front door?”

Why would he care about that? My dad had turned my two-bedroom ranch-style house unto a smart house earlier in the year. Instead of a key, you needed a five-digit code to unlock the front door or needed the fob that was attached to my keychain. “41512,” I answered him.

The last thing I remember was hearing my front door open and Tonks and Neffi meowing loudly. Before I passed out into a fever induced slumber, I thought that I saw Angel hovering above me, a worried look on his face. But that couldn’t be right. Angel couldn’t be there. He didn’t know where I lived.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to point this out in the first chapter, but I forgot. This story is taking place roughly a year and a half before the show starts. So, yes, EZ is still in prison at this point. Don’t worry, I promise to let him out soon.

“Oh, God,” I groaned and held my throbbing head as I slowly started to come to.”

A sudden pressure on my chest told me that Tonks was with me. And the shock from her jumping and landing on my congested chest sent me into a sudden coughing fit.

“Fucking cat.” My heart froze in my chest when I heard Angel’s voice before Tonks was removed from my chest. “I told you to stay off Mamá.” I felt the bed dip beside me a large, cold hand on my back. “Take it easy, bebita.” Angel cooed in my ear as he rubbed my lower back under my tank top.

When the coughing fit finally eased up, I opened my eyes and found Angel offering me a sip of water. I had a lot of questions, but I still accepted it, and Angel’s help laying back down when I was done drinking.

“I had a friend of mine trace your number for me about a month ago,” Angel started to explain himself before I even got around to asking. “When you stopped responding to me, and I read in the news online that you were back home for a while, I decided to be a stalker and ride out here from California to check up on you. And that’s not a line. I really was worried about you.”

“Why?” I managed to croak out. Shit. I sounded worse than _Kermit the Frog_.

“Why did I come to check on you, or why did I have Riz ping your phone?” Angel was seated next to me on the bed, and he kept a respectable distance.

“Both.”

Angel leaned back against my wooden headboard beside where I lay propped up on a stack of pillows. “I got frustrated. I found myself having fucking feelings for some mystery chick that I only ever texted with. It was a mind fuck, and I had to know that you were real. I was messin’ with you when I brought up your band. I didn’t think it would freak you out so much. I’m sorry,” he told me sincerely. “I’m kind of crazy about you, Chelsea. I’ve fucking missed you the last few weeks, mi sol. I’ve lost a lot of shit in my life – my mom’s dead and my baby brother’s in prison. I couldn’t fucking lose you too. I know you probably think I’m fucking crazy, and maybe I am, but that’s why I’m here.”

“I’ve missed you too,” I admitted in a whisper because, at that moment, it was as high as I could get my voice to go. I know it didn’t seem like much, given all that he had just shared with me, but that’s all I had the energy to say. I would make it up to him when the world stopped spinning around me.

“You’re not upset, mi reina?” Angel reached out and brushed a piece of my hair behind my ear. “You would be okay with being mine?”

“I’m not upset,” I weakly shook my head against the pillow. “I’ve been yours since the first time you called me Country Mouse.” I was going to deeply regret my loose lips when my fever broke, I just knew it. Speaking of which. “Could you get the _Nyquil_ out of the medicine chest, please?”

“Si, mi armor.” Angel leaned down and kissed my forehead before getting up. My fever was so high that Angel’s every touch felt like ice. I now knew what it must feel like to have a vampire boyfriend. I wasn’t a fan.


	7. Chapter 7

The next time I awoke, it was in the dead of night, and I wasn’t alone in my bed. Tonks was in her usual place at the foot of my bed, but my mind was focused on the sexy as hell shirtless man who lay beside me with his arm thrown protectively over my stomach as he slept.

Had Angel really me to be his? Or had that just been wishful thinking brought on by my fever? Why else would he be in my bed, holding me while he slept if he wasn’t mine?

“You’re tense, mi sol,” the arm around my waist tightened. “What’s wrong?”

“Did yesterday really happen?” I was feeling a bit better, but I was still a bit stuck in that cloudy haze that came with being ill. 

Angel pushed himself up so that he was leaning over me with one hand beside my head. “The part where I told you I’m crazy about you or the part where you agreed to be mine?”

“Both,” I unknowingly parroted my words from the previous day.

Angel smirked before leaning down and placing a soft kiss on my forehead. “You, for sure, agreed to be mine, and I’m accepting no take backs, querida, because…I’m crazy into you.”

I smiled and reached up to stroke his cheek, his goatee tickling my skin as I did. “I’m crazy about you too. That’s why you scared me so much.”

“May I kiss you, mi reina?” Angel’s eyes were moist, and the look on his face was hopeful.

“I’d love you to kiss me, babu, but I don’t want to get you sick,” I shook my head in regret.

“I never get sick, bebita,” Angel rushed to assure me. “It’s a risk I really want – no – not want, a risk that I NEED to take. Please, mi reina, let me kiss you?”

How in the hell was I supposed to say no to him when he said things like that? I couldn’t. He left me no choice but to agree.

Blushing, I nodded. “Okay, baby, kiss me.”

I could only describe the look that came over Angel’s face as wolfish – he grinned at me like a wolf looks at its prey right before his lips touched mine for the first time. Angel’s kiss was soft and tender. He took his time exploring my mouth. Time seemed to stand still until, finally, needing oxygen, Angel pulled back and leaned his forehead against mine. “Be my old lady?”

“What’s an old lady?” I scrunched up my nose.

Angel smiled and gave me another quick kiss. “In my world, the MC world,” he clarified, “an old lady is like a brother’s wife. It’s the woman that we build a life with, have babies with. It’s the only woman who’s allowed to tattoo our names on their skin.”

I tried to ignore the warmth in my heart and the butterflies in my stomach that came with his words. I needed to be smart about this, regardless of how I felt. “A few things before I agree to anything. The first thing is I don’t share. I expect you to be faithful to me because I’ll be faithful to you. Second is that I won’t give up my career to be no one’s housewife. I love what I do, and even though I’m about to take a few years off, I have every intention of returning. Finally, the only way your name gets inked on my skin is if you return the favor and put a ring on it ala Beyoncé.” 

The smile never once left Angel’s face as I spoke. “Okay,” he nodded. “Let me answer your questions in order. First off, I want you and only you. You’re not gonna have to worry about sharing me with anybody. Second, I love that you love what you do, and I wasn’t lying when I told you I was a fan. I would never try to hold you back. Lastly, I’m more than happy to return the favor, and I have every intention of eventually putting a ring on it. How’s all that sound, bebita?”

“Like you rehearsed it a bit before I ever even asked,” I giggled.

“I did,” Angel freely admitted. “I spent the whole ride from Santo Padre running over ways in my head to get you to agree to be mi reina.”

“Your queen,” I remembered the meaning of reina.

“Si, mi sol,” Angel nodded. “I want you to be my queen, mi reina.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Angel seemed to feel the need to double-check.

“Okay,” I laughed. “I’ll be your old lady.”

Angel’s lips were on mine as soon as I finished speaking. “You won’t regret this,” he promised against my lips when we parted. “I’ll make you happy, bebita. I promise.”


	8. Chapter 8

“When do you go back on the road?”

It was two days later, and I was starting to feel like myself again. Memphis was experiencing an early autumn heatwave. Even though it was the end of September, the temperature was still hitting the high seventies every day. Because I had spent the last three days in bed with a fever, Angel had insisted we get some fresh air. When he led me out back into my fenced-in backyard, laid down in one of the comfy chaise lounge chairs beside the pool, and pulled me to lay atop him with my head on his chest, I couldn’t help but agree with him. The fresh air was definitely a good thing.

“Next Sunday,” I answered. “We’ll spend most of October playing the east coast and the Midwest.”

“When’s your next break?” Angel was absentmindedly running his fingertips up and down my spine. It was soothing, making me a little sleepy.

“I’ll have October 29th through November 2nd off. Then we head to the west coast to finish off the tour.” My eyes were closed, and I was completely relaxed as I spoke.

“How about you spend your next break in Santo Padre with me? That way, I can introduce you to my Pops and my club.” Angel stopped stroking my back and wrapped his strong, tatted up arms around me.

I noticed that Angel didn’t mention his brother; then again, he never talked much about his only sibling. I only knew that he had a little brother because he had mentioned him once or twice, and I knew that he was in prison. I knew that it appeared to be a sore subject for Angel, so I tried to avoid asking questions. If there was something he wanted me to know, Angel would tell me when he was ready. I hadn’t known him long, but I had been friends with him long enough to know that.

“Only if you agree to spend Thanksgiving here in Memphis so you can meet my family,” I countered. Fair was fair, after all.

“Deal,” Angel kissed my forehead.

“Oh!” A sudden thought popped into my head. “You don’t have a dog, do you?”

I felt more than I head Angel chuckle below me. “You wanna bring those damn cats, don’t you, mi reina? And, no, I don’t got a dog,” he assured me.

“Hey!” I sat up a little on his chest to look up at him. “Tonks and Neffi are my emotional support animals,” I joked, “where I go, they go.”

Angel laughed. “More like you’re their emotional support human. I took care of them while you were sick, bebita. I wasn’t you, and those putas made me pay for it. Neffi bites, just to let you know.”

She had never bitten me, but I wisely decided not to share that information. “Hey! I know what puta means. Be nice to my babies.” I lightly smacked his chest.

Angel reached up and cradled the back of my neck in his hand. “I’m sorry, baby. Let me make it up to you.” He pulled me down for a long, steamy kiss.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ’m so sorry that this update took me five months to post. I was struggling with my bipolar disorder this past summer. I needed time away to get my head screwed back on straight. That might sound like TMI, but I’m all about breaking the stigma associated with mental illness. My old tumblr was shut down during my breakdown, so if you had a story request in, I lost it. I wasn’t thinking clearly when I deleted it to get away from political trolling. New tumblr is antisocialwonder. If you resubmit the request, I’ll work on it once I’m done updating all of my neglected stories.
> 
> Disclaimer: Song lyrics are copyright © Carrie Underwood

“Where are you today, bebita?” I was sitting on the porch of my pop’s place, smoking a cigarette that I knew Chelsea would give my ass for if she was there.

“We’re playing the MGM in downtown Detroit,” Chelsea replied. “I miss you.”

My heart warmed at her words. “I miss you too, Chelsea. Only four more days, and you’ll be here with me.”

At that moment, my old man walked out of the screen door and took a seat in one of the old lawn chairs he kept on the porch. He looked at me, sitting on the steps and raised a questioning eyebrow at me, nodding at the phone.

“Chelsea,” I mouthed silently in reply, and Pop’s nodded.

“I know. I can’t wait, baby.” There was a dreamy tone to my woman’s voice. It fucking amazed me that I was the one that made her sound like that. I heard someone in the background talking to her. “Shit,” she cursed. “Angel, I gotta get to soundchecks, so I need to run.”

“Alright, mi reina. Be safe and call me later to let me know you got to your hotel.” Detroit could be a rough city after dark, and I didn’t want my country mouse getting hurt.

“I will, baby,” Chelsea assured me. “I’ll call you later,” she promised before she hung up.

“How’s your young lady?” Pops asked me once he noticed that I had ended my phone call.

“Her band’s playing a show in Detroit,” I answered. “She’ll be here for a few days next week while she’s on a break.”

“I’d love to meet her.”

“You will,” I nodded. It seemed like my pop was leading up to something. I just had a gut feeling.

“I spoke to EZ yesterday…”

There it was.

“He wants to know why you won’t come and see him. He says you haven’t been to the prison in over a year.”

“I can’t see my baby brother locked up like that. Every time I see him, it’s like a punch in the stomach.” I would look at my dad as I spoke.

“You’d be soulless if you didn’t feel like that, son,” my dad wisely said. “That doesn’t mean you can just forget you have a brother.”  
  


“Trust me, Pop, I’m not gonna forget about the golden boy,” I spat out bitterly. I got to my feet and headed for my bike. I wasn’t in the mood to have my old man fucking lecture me. I knew I was the family fuck up. It had to kill my father that his golden boy was locked up while I was walking free. EZ made his bed. I had fucking warned him when I gave him that gun.

Before I started up my bike, I put my earbuds in, then I went to Chelsea’s playlist and hit the shuffle button. As long as I heard her voice, I knew I’d be able to calm down.

_“I don’t really care ‘bout making any plans_

_Leave it up in the air, give it up to chance_

_Seein’ where it goes, seein’ where it lands_

_I just wanna go as fast as we can,_

_And we could end up broke down on some back road_

_Lovin’ in the backseat to the radio_

_Wouldn’t be the worst scenario_

_‘Cause all I wanna do is end up with you…”_


	10. Chapter 10

I opened the Skype app on my laptop and called Angel.

“Hola, mi reina.” Angel wasn’t smiling when he appeared on my computer screen.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” I picked up Tonks and moved her to lay beside me on the hotel bed because she was trying to lay on my keyboard.

“Family shit,” Angel slowly shook his head. “You don’t need to worry about it.”

“That’s not how relationships work, babe. Tell me what’s wrong,” I demanded as firmly as I could.

I could have sworn that a micro expression of a smile passed over my old man’s face. “My pops is trying to get me to go and visit my baby brother in lock-up.”

“Why won’t you visit him?” I raised an eyebrow. “Are you mad at him?”

“Fuck, no,” Angel was quick to say. “I’m mad at myself. I gave him the gun that he used to fuck up his life.”

“Talk to me, Angel,” I said as Tonks once again moved, this time to lay in my lap. Neffi wasn’t cool with not being the center of my attention, so, she moved to lay cuddled up to my side. I rolled my eyes into the camera. “Apparently all three of us are listening.”

I spent the next hour just listening to everything that Angel had thus far held back. He told me about all of the times he’d been arrested. He admitted that his MC wasn’t operating on the right side of the law. He told me he’d served a year and a half in prison on drug running charges, but he also swore up and down that the worst thing he messed with these days was pot. Then the stories got worse. He told me about his mom’s still unsolved murder. He had given his little brother, EZ, an unregistered handgun and when EZ had come across the car that he had seen fleeing the scene of their mom’s murder, he had given chase. In the confusion of the chase, EZ had accidently shot an undercover cop. Now he was serving twenty-five to life in prison.

“It wasn’t your fault,” I shook my head. “It wasn’t even really EZ’s either. Emotions got the better of both of you and you both made some really bad decisions. I know you don’t like seeing your little brother like that, but he needs your support, baby.” I tried to be as gentle as possible as I agreed with Angel’s father. I had a sudden idea. “I’ll make you a deal. When I come to visit, we’ll both go and visit EZ together.”

I watched as shock overtook Angel’s handsome face. “Bebita, after everything I just told you, you still want to be my old lady?”

“Of course, I do, Speedy,” I reverted to my original nickname for him. “I’m country, honey, and I live in Memphis where Beale Street holds an annual bike week. You’re not the first biker I’ve ever met in my life. Mc’s are a dime a dozen where I come from. The only thing you could have said that would have shocked would be that you’ve never broken the law. My eyes were wide open when I went into this, Angel.”

Angel’s eyes were misty, and I watched as he lit a joint and took a few hits to gather himself before he spoke again. “Mi reina, you’re gonna kick my ass for doing this right now but I have to say it.” He looked directly into the camera. “I love you, Chelsea, probably a little more than is healthy.”

“Are you serious?” I brought my hand to cover my chest and I’m pretty sure I did it just to make sure that it was still beating.

“Dead serious,” he nodded. “I love fucking everything about you, Chelsea. You’re a fucking goddess to look at. You should be conceded but you have a heart of gold. You have the voice of an angel and when you’re not with me, it’s the only thing that calms me down – listening to your voice. You’re smart as hell, way smarter than me and you make me laugh and smile even when I don’t to. You tell me what I need to hear,” he chuckled, “even when I don’t want to hear it. Even the way you obsessively love and take care of the two demons you call cats is adorable. You’re my best friend, Chelsea, and here soon you’re going to be my lover. You’re the one thing in my life that I couldn’t bear to lose. I’m pretty positive that all means that I love you.”

Tears were rolling unchecked down my cheeks and I suddenly understood how the Grinch felt when his heart grew three sizes.

“Please, say something, mi amor,” Angel pleaded.

“I wish I could kiss you right now,” my voice was shaky and a bit uneven. “I love you too, Angel.”

Angel looked as though I had given him the greatest gift ever even though I was the one who felt like they were reaping the most rewards from this relationship.


	11. Chapter 11

“Hey, Pop,” I walked into my old man’s butcher shop. “I need you to do me a favor.”

“Raising you wasn’t enough?” Pop smirked.

I ignored him. “I need you to put me and Chelsea down on EZ’s visitor list for this Sunday.”

Pop stopped what he was doing and looked at me with happy surprise. “You’re taking your young lady to meet your brother? She knows what happened?”

“Yeah,” I tried not to meet his eyes. “She reminded me that EZ needs all the support he can get. I can’t let my guilt get in the way. She’s coming more for moral support than anything.” I held up my hand. “Don’t say I told you so.”

“I wasn’t going to, mijo.” Pop chuckled. “I was going to tell you to marry that young lady.”

***

I had borrowed my old man’s pickup truck to pick Chelsea up from the LA airport the next morning. I couldn’t very well transport my girl’s luggage and two cats on the back of my bike. I left Santo Padre before the sun was up and I arrived at the airport by midmorning. Chelsea’s flight had arrived early so she was waiting for me in the airport’s VIP lounge.

A big smile lit up her face when she saw me.

“Hola, mi reina,” I caught her in my arms when she threw hers around my neck. “I missed you.” I pulled back to softly kiss her lips.

“I missed you too,” she replied when we broke apart.

A loud meow issued from the cat carrier at her feet.

“I ain’t gonna lie. I haven’t missed them.” I pointed at Neffi’s carrier.

Chelsea rolled her eyes. “No one but me ever does.”

“You ready to get out of here and back to my place?” I grabbed her duffel bag and slung it over my shoulder.

“So ready. I’ve been traveling all night and I need a shower. I feel gross.” She scrunched up her nose.

“You sure don’t look gross, mi amor.” I winked at her as I went to grab Neffi’s carrier and the little bitch reached out through the bars and scratched the hell out of my wrist. I accidently dropped the carrier’s handle, making the cat hiss evilly when it hit the floor. “Shit!” I looked down and found blood oozing from a fresh wound.

“Neffi! Bad girl!” Chelsea admonished as she pulled a pack of tissues out of her purse to steam the flow of blood from my injury.

****

And to be nice and because I'm a crazy cat lady, here are a couple of pictures of the cats in this story:


	12. Chapter 12

Angel drove us to his modest ranch style house in a small neighborhood in the heart of Santo Padre. He made sure all the windows in the house were closed before I let Tonks and Neffi out to explore. Prior to my arrival, my boyfriend had grudgingly purchased a cat litter box that I noticed was set up in the laundry room, just past the small kitchen.

“Do you want me to take care of your hand?” I asked as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

“No, mi reina.” He softly kissed me. “You can go and take your shower. I got band aids around here somewhere.”

“If you’re sure, babe.” I smiled. “Do we have any plans tonight?” I wanted to know how I needed to dress when I got out of the shower.

“Nah,” he smiled. “Get comfortable, baby. I picked up some steaks from my old man’s shop to throw on the grill. Even got the little putas some tuna steaks while I was there.”

Okay, that made me love him just a little bit more. “You know you still have to cook them, right?” Raw fish could be dangerous for cats, just like it could be for humans.

“Seriously?”

“Yep.”

“Fucking princesses.” Now he was starting to get it. “For the record, I want a dog for Christmas.” He kissed me one more time before releasing me from his hold.

Little did he know that was actually the plan. I had even made a list of dog breeds that were good with cats, so I knew what to look for in the local shelters. “Make you a deal, babe. You grill the steaks and I’ll fry the first for the cats.”

“Deal,” he reached out and took my hand, lightly swinging it. “I love you, querida.”

That was the first time he had said that in person, not that I doubted for a second that he did.

“I love you too.” I smiled as pulled my hand away from his. “I’m for real though, I feel really gross. Where’s the shower?”


	13. Chapter 13

I couldn’t remember the last time I was this happy. That’s probably because I don’t think I had ever been as happy as I was when I was with Chelsea.

After sharing the chore of making dinner, we had eaten on the back porch as the sun was just starting to set.

“Memphis is nice but it’s never this nice this close to Thanksgiving,” Chelsea remarked as she took a sip out of her beer bottle.

“You think you get used to it on a permanent basis?” I smirked playfully at her.

“Slow your roll,” she giggled nervously. I had clearly made her uncomfortable. “It’s still a little early to go down that road, baby.”

I had always wondered who set the time limits for relationships…and why did we just accept them as gospel instead of trusting out own instincts and emotions? I loved Chelsea. She said that she loved me too. I had gone out of my way to make my home cat friendly for two little fur balls that hated me with the fire of a thousand suns. We had spent the afternoon joking about getting a dog together. I saw us living together sooner rather than later. Now I just needed to get her to see the same thing.

“I’ll drop it…for now.” I winked at her across the table.

“My mom really wants to meet you.” Chelsea wouldn’t quite meet my eye.

“Is that a bad thing?” I had noticed that while Chelsea often mentioned her father and being a daddy’s girl, she rarely if ever talked about her mom.

“Not for normal people,” she rolled her eyes. “My mom’s what I imagine would be the end result of a horrible experiment to merge a Karen with a stage mom.”

Well. That sounded horrifying. “I’m with you, querida. I could care less about your ass mother,” I promised her.

Chelsea gave an unladylike snort. “You say that now…”

“Hey,” I said sternly to get her attention. It worked. Her eyes met mine. “I’m gonna say that always. I love you and I don’t expect everything about us to be a fucking Disney movie. When the time comes, I can handle your mom. You got me?”

A happy little smile lit up her pretty face. “I got you…and I love you too, Angel.”

“Want to head back to the bedroom and show me how much?” We hadn’t made love yet and I would be lying to say that I wasn’t starting to get a bit impatient.

This time, Chelsea smirked at me. “I was wondering when you were going to get around to asking.”


	14. Chapter 14

It would be a lie to say that I wasn’t nervous once I was alone with Angel in his bedroom. I’d been celibate for the last five years, and I was totally out of practice. Not that I had much experience to begin with. I had had all of three boyfriends in my life, Angel included. Out of the two that came before Angel, I had only been intimate with one of them. What I totally sucked at this?

“Mi amor, are you still with me?” We had long since lost our clothes, and Angel paused in the middle of kissing down the valley between my breasts. “You look a million miles away from me right now, and that won’t do, baby.”

I felt myself blush, and I knew that Angel saw it because it went all the way down my chest. “It’s been a while,” I admitted.

“How long is a while?” He leaned down and nibbled on my neck, just below my ear, making me moan and arch up into him.

My movement caused my warm heat to rub up against his cock, and I smirked when Angel groaned and bit his lip. “Nice try, querida.” He reached down and held my hips down on the mattress. Now it was his turn to tease me. While holding me still, he rocked his hips slowly back and forth, making his cock rub against my clit in just the right way.

I glare at him. “Stop teasing!”

“Then tell me, mi reina,” he whispered against my lips, his hips rocking one more time. “How long has it been since a man’s had you? If you tell me, you can have this.” He rutted against me, and I gave in because he was driving me fucking crazy.

“Five years, give or take a month,” I said in a rush. “You’re only the second guy I’ve ever been with. Can we get on with it, please?”

Angel chuckled huskily and took me by surprise when he slid inside me in one smooth stroke. He stilled once he was seated as deep inside of me as he could get. He bent down so that his lips were next to my ear. “You meant that I’m the last fucking guy you’ll ever be with, mi reina. You’re mine, Chelsea.” He slowly started to move as he took my lips in a long, lazy kiss.

“I’m yours,” I pledged when we finally came up for air. “Fuck, Angel!” I moaned and wrapped my arms around his neck as he picked up my legs and wrapped them around his waist. Then he really went to town, his pace picking up with every thrust.

Angel leaned down and captured my nipple in his teeth, lightly nibbling, and I damn near screamed. I bit my lip to stifle it.

Angel didn’t like that. He pulled out and thrust back in, hard. I couldn’t stop the scream that escaped my lips that time, and he smirked. “Good girl. Let me hear you, baby.”

***

“Holy shit,” I panted as I lay sprawled across Angel’s sweaty chest.

“My thoughts exactly,” Angel kissed my forehead. “It’s a good fuckin’ thing I don’t have any close neighbors. You took ‘let me hear you’ as a challenge, mi amor.”

I was still slightly giggling as he wrapped his arms around me tightly, and we settled in to sleep…or at least attempted to.

“MEEEEOOOOOWWW!!!”

“Babe, Neffi wants in.”

Angel huffed as he got out of bed to crack the bedroom door.


End file.
